Oyster Reefs

one adult oyster cleans up to 50 gallons of water per day. oyster reefs also provide habitat for other wildlife. Oyster reefs protect shorelines. this is why the society builds oyster reefs.

Intertidal Reefs - Delaware Bay​Delaware Bay beaches naturally erode and rebuild over time. The process of erosion has accelerated in recent years, very likely an impact of increased storm frequency, climate change and sea level rise. We are working to establish near-shore shell bars at four of our beach restoration sites: South Reeds Beach, Moore's Beach, Thompson’s Beach, and Dyer's Cove to prevent sand loss from wind driven waves.

We constructed a 200 linear foot oyster reef offshore at South Reeds Beach, and have apply this design to other beaches. We continually monitor the reefs to see if they produce measurable levels of wave attenuation that both help reduce beach erosion and create calmer water for spawning horseshoe crabs. We are also checking to see which types of fish species use the reef as habitat and if the living shoreline is suitable for oysters.

The reef design incorporates an inner and outer reef both 200' long. These reefs are proposed as intertidal reefs, meaning that they will be exposed during low tide and covered during high tide. Blocks of shell bags are arranged in a herring bone pattern to minimize the possibility of trapping horseshoe crabs (or other aquatic critters) as the tide heads out.

The reefs are built with volunteer labor, both for the bagging of the shell and the placement of the bags on the reef. When we build a reef we hold a Shellabration, which is a party that includes the reef construction, a barbecue, and if the weather and location permit, other activities like seining.

Much of the labor to build the reefs comes either from US veterans who are staffers at the Society; members of the Society's Veterans Corps; or active duty personnel who volunteer their services. Every year, on Veterans Day, the Society names a reef in honor of those who served in the US Armed Forces. This event, called Veterans Day on the Bay, allows loved ones to write the name of a veteran on a shell, which then gets placed on the reef.

Subtidal Reefs - Barnegat Bay​In an effort to address poor water quality in Barnegat Bay, the Society has been experimenting with subtital reefs. These reefs, which remain submerged through the entire tide cycle, are intended to help improve water quality by removing excess nutrients. The Society has been working on an experimental subtidal reef off Good Luck Point in Barnegat Bay, which included placing whelk shell across a half acre site and seeding the reef with spat-on shells.

The process began in 2015 with the dumping of cured Whelk shell off Good Luck Point using a tug and barge. The society then set up a spat tank on the Ocean Gate public dock nearby, where we released millions of oyster larvae into the tank so they could set on the shell which had previously been loaded into individual bags. Once the larvae had set on the shell in the bags, we had a parade of boats to deliver the shellbags with the spat (baby oysters) on them, onto the reef itself off Good Luck Point.

This project was organized and paid for by the Society. Partners in the project are Monmouth University which is providing its research vessel and underwater technology for monitoring, Good Luck Point Marina, which has generously donated the use of its boat ramp, the community of Ocean Gate whose DPW has provided manpower and equipment and Reclam The Bay.